Ravnos
Ravnos, historically connected with the oppressed Rroma, maintained a strong sense of clan solidarity for a very long time. They are known as travellers and drifters, and many Kindred in cities give them little thought beyond trouble. This lack of respect is brought upon by the Ravnos curse, which manifests itself in the form of a powerful vice. Every Ravnos has a particular vice which she must indulge, given the opportunity. Unfortauntely, the vice is always criminal, ranging from petty theft to murder. This is the true reason to their drifting, as their actions will catch up to them if they don't continue moving. Knowing they all have the same problem, this has led to a powerful sense of community. The most common manifestation of this community was through a form of retaliation called "The Treatment". The Treatment was a vengeance attack where a mistreated Ravnos would contact fellows in the clan, who would then swarm upon the city where the original Ravnos was victimized. In general, a dozen Ravnos running amok could bring even the most experienced Prince to the brink, and well-placed exaggerations about the impact of the Treatment was the main weapon the Ravnos used to squeeze out what place they did have in Western society. The Clan Before the Week of Nightmares, the Ravnos were broken into western and eastern divisions. Western Ravnos are largely individuals without larger clan loyalties outside of perhaps tribal (and Rroma loyalties). Eastern Ravnos have their own caste system, developed from the lineages that descended from Zapathasura. These jati are effectively bloodlines with the clan. jati are directly related to the jati of Hindu society, with the equivalent of the Shudra caste being ghouls. Over the various exodis from India, each Ravnos treck had other views, values and motivations, resulting in a multitude of branches of the Indian main Clan within Europe. Since the Week of Nightmares, the Ravnos don't have a clan organization. Western Ravnos, historically connected with the oppressed Rroma, maintained a strong sense of clan solidarity for a very long time. The most common manifestation of this solidarity was through a form of retaliation called "The Treatment". The Treatment was a vengeance attack where a mistreated Ravnos would contact fellows in the clan, who would then swarm upon the city where the original Ravnos was victimized. In general, a dozen Ravnos running amok could bring even the most experienced Prince to the brink, and well-placed exaggerations about the impact of the Treatment was the main weapon the Ravnos used to squeeze out what place they did have in Western society. Past that, Ravnos culture was dominated by its religious role; the greatest division between Indian and Western Ravnos being the differences between mayapisatya and the Path of Paradox. In 1998, Ravnos elders began to "educate" (with knives) their heretical cousins, setting the clan back on the straight and narrow. In India, the Ravnos dominated the continent, probably the largest concentration of a single clan in one country. In several ways, the Ravnos paralleled the Assamites - both clans had a caste system invisible to outsiders, and both clans were defined by a military role. As with everything else in the clan, Embraces differed between Indian and Western Ravnos. Western Ravnos generally embraced only Gypsies (with the exception of the Ravnos antitribu who were noted for embracing gorgios) and generally embraced for any reason. Indian Ravnos viewed the Embrace as a means to fulfilling the fledgling's svadharma. In India, one's jati in life also defined one's jati in undeath. Mechanical systems Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Chimerstry Favored Attributes: '''Resolve, or Manipulation '''Weakness: A Ravos gains a free, additional Vice upon being embraced that must revolve around some sort of trickery, deceit, or cruelty. At first this may seem like a blessing, another way to bolster and recharge oneself mentally and spiritually, but soon the Ravnos feels the urges. Any time a Ravnos has an slightest opportunity to indulge this Vice but does not do so, she loses two points of Willpower. Antitribu The Ravnos antitribu is possibly the least 'anti' as antitribu goes. They, too, revel in trickery and deceit. They too want to wander as they please. Ravos Antitribu are not members of the Sabbat, but rather have opted to join the Carthian Movement. Many Brujah dislike these Ravnos for the same reasons others do. How can they be trusted? But still, the movement must be inclusive, for if they cannot hold to their principles then they have nothing. Since the week of nightmares, very few remain. Over the last ten years the Carthians have been encouraging those few to embrace as much as possible to repopulate the almost dead clan.... within their Covenant. Ravnos in Portland Due to the Pacific Northwest's relative Isolation from kindred society, and the difficulty of travelling to and from Portland, Ravnos are not currently known to visit. There is one known Ravnos in the Portland who came to the city but in August of 2010. His reasons remain his own, but he is viewed with suspicion. Category:Clans/Bloodlines